Dubai Hotel Catches Fire, Panic And Fear Reported By Witnesses

A massive fire that engulfed the The Address Downtown Hotel Dubai last night has been put out by Dubai authorities, reports said.

A medic at the scene said more than 60 people were treated for mild smoke inhalation and problems caused by crowding as they fled.

The blaze ran up at least 20 storeys of the Address Downtown hotel near the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper.

“Within 10 seconds it went from, ‘Wow, that’s a fire, ‘ to ‘We need to not be where we are, ‘” Josh Gatlin, a visiting American who was downtown to watch the fireworks, told CNN.

As Dubai’s fireworks show at the Burj Khalifa for the New Year lit up the sky, flames continued to lick the Address nearby.

Still it remains unclear as to what caused the fire, which broke out as large crowds had gathered to celebrate the the New Year.

Dubai’s Media Office wrote on its official Twitter account that the fire appeared to have started on a 20th floor terrace, though witnesses who saw the blaze start said they believed it began on the building’s ground floor. The entire display reportedly involved 1.6 tons of pyrotechnics. The Government of Dubai Media Office said around midnight that the fire was over 90 per cent in control within half an hour.

She said that staff were very efficient in moving people out of the hotel.

The emirate had promising a “spectacular” fireworks display that was set to kick-off at midnight.

Tourist Angus Villar described how it was the only way to get her out of the Address hotel downtown, which turned into an inferno just before the New Year’s Eve fireworks were due to start.

“I was busy clicking pictures when my colleague suddenly screamed that there was a fire”, Mallari was quoted as saying.

Dubai’s police chief said all the hotel’s residents had been evacuated from the scene of the blaze, which had still not been extinguished some two hours after it broke out.

The building was likely to have been packed with people because of its clear view of the 905-yard tall Burj Khalifa, where the fireworks display was to take place.

The fire fortunately affected only the exterior facade of the building and did not spread throughout the interior.

The flames leaped up the building as governments around the world were on high alert for possible terrorist attacks tied to New Year’s Eve celebrations, but there was no initial indication that terrorism was to blame for the blaze.